Cherry Stems
by Pieces Of Hope
Summary: While Katara fights off her nosy questions of where she and Aang disappeared to yesterday, Aang is forced to face the wrath of an oblivious Sokka. If Aang can tie the cherry stem in a knot then he's ready! Too bad Sokka's a little late...


'_Kay, so I picture this a day after the kissing scene in the finale, I suppose there all just hanging out in Iroh's teashop. I thought of this at work because currently my job is boring as hell and I need Aang's awesome-ness to occupy my daydreams…_

_Cause he's my forever boy ahahah!_

* * *

**Cherry Stems**

Sokka smirked as he popped a cherry into his mouth, waving his eyebrows as coolly as he could to Suki who sat across from him. She giggled a bit and waved her hand slightly.

"Cut it out…not in front of everyone…" She mouthed as clearly as she could without openly saying in front of everyone. Sokka shrugged, turned away, and looked over to Aang who sat staring at Katara without her notice. In disgust the young man stuck his tongue out and slapped Aang in the shoulder. The boy turned to him with wide eyes, unsure of what he had done.

"What'd I do?" He asked, completely out of it. Sokka shook his head and picked the monk up by his robes and led him outside. Normally something as this would be completely disrespectful especially to the Avatar but…it didn't really friggin' matter to Sokka, Aang WAS Aang, a goofy kid who had a major crush on his little sister.

Like being summoned wordlessly, Zuko followed behind without a reason. The girls watched the boys leave but found that they were rather uninterested in where they were going.

Sokka dropped Aang and crossed his arms over his chest disapprovingly. The young boy's face seemed innocent enough but the memories of making out with Katara seemed to be popping up into his head one by one. Aang desperately tried to stop the dreamy smile from coming to his face. He was sensing he was in trouble.

"So…Aang…_Mr. Avatar_…" Sokka started. Zuko shuffled his feet for a moment and tried to remember why he had come out here in the first place. Then glancing over at the girls he saw their sudden random laughter and he remembered why.

"Uh, yes Sokka?" Aang replied as calmly as he could. He placed a hand behind his head and looked way from the older boy's now unexpectedly livid eyes.

"LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU MISTER!" Sokka shouted, shaking Aang's shoulders. The boy turned his gray eyes to Sokka's cold blue ones and frowned.

"Yes, yes…sorry!" Aang gasped. He shook his head, wondering what exactly he did to make Sokka so angry with him.

"So…you like my sister don't you?" Sokka asked him. Aang's eyes widened as he was unsure if he had heard that question right.

"Well yeah! Where the heck have you been?" Aang asked blatantly in return.

"That was a pretty stupid question Sokka…" Zuko said mildly behind him, causing Sokka to turn to point a finger in the young Fire Lord's face. Zuko's eyes grew.

"Stay out of this Pretty Boy!" He shouted. While Zuko repeated the words quietly to himself in question, Sokka then turned back to Aang, the young boy in question. Aang had relaxed slightly, finding all this getting slightly ridiculous. He was having a much better time looking at Katara and imaging what they could do later on the balcony.

"Do you plan on making some sort of move on her?" Sokka got closer to the boy's face, staring him down. And while the look was meant to frighten, Aang felt like laughing his ass off.

Make a move? He thought to himself, he's all ready kissed her three times! They were together now so there was no need to make a move...other than moving forward in their relationship, which at this moment Aang thought of as just a technicality.

"No, I will be doing no moving what-so-ever!" And honestly enough, it was the truth in a funny little way. He held up his hand and smiled innocently. He would say no more and no less, leaving the subject hanging.

"I see…I see…" Sokka put a finger to his chin the glanced down at Aang who seemed impatient as he waited for another question. "I don't think I believe you!" Sokka pointed in disgust. Aang groaned to himself as he slapped his forehead in frustration. "I don't think you're ready to be kissin' Katara!" He whispered harshly as to make sure only Aang could hear him, though he was so bad at it Zuko heard it too.

Too late. Aang thought smugly to himself.

"I think I'll give you a test…" Sokka said quietly. Aang and Zuko's faces grew into ones of utter pain and disgust.

"NO WAY IN HELL AM I KISSING YOU!" Aang let the curse slip, backing away from Sokka in shock. Zuko too moved away in fear.

Sokka shook his head wildly. "What the heck is the matter with you two? Why in the name of the sprits would I want to do that?" He puckered his lips. "These babies are only for Suki!" He tried to sound sexy as he said it but it failed.

"Oh…than what's the test?" Aang asked, slowly moving back to the spot he took before. Sokka put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a handful of cherries. Zuko and Aang both took one and popped it into their mouths without thinking. Sokka shook his head and shouted, "No, idiots! This is the test!"

"You're gunna make me kiss a cherry?" Aang asked with a weird tone in his voice. He was more than a little confused.

"No, dummy!" He shook his head as he plucked the stem of the cherry and handed it to Aang. The boy took it with a curious look on his face.

"A cherry stem?" He asked in wonder. Sokka nodded and grinned evilly.

"If you can tie that stem in a knot," Sokka started.

"That's really easy!" Aang cut him off…

"In your mouth…than I think you're good enough." Sokka finished conceitedly, knowing deep in his heart Aang would never be able to do. Sokka himself couldn't even do it after nearly a hundred tries! He grinned, he knew Aang would fail.

Zuko nodded, agreeing with the plan though his input didn't really seem to matter.

"_Can…you…handle…it_?" Sokka questioned, breaking the words apart. Aang looked at the stem in his hand and smirked.

"I think I can manage…" He cocked his head to the side as he placed the object into his mouth…

The girls only watched a fraction of this interaction before returning to their own conversation.

"Whatever…" Mai said more to herself than to the other girls. They nodded in agreement though and she shrugged in response.

"So…" Toph started suddenly, slightly facing Katara. She sat straighter in her seat, feeling an on-coming interrogation but she wasn't exactly sure why. "Where did you and Twinkle Toes run off to yesterday?" She and Suki laughed and even Mai had a small smirk on her face. Katara blushed and looked down at her lap.

"You all noticed?" She asked quietly, feeling slightly embarrassed. The girls each nodded.

"We did, of course…the boys were rather oblivious to it though…" Suki motioned to the gentleman standing outside, huddled in a circle. For the Fire Lord, the Avatar, and a brimming swords master…the tension around them seemed strange. The girls shrugged and returned to their own conversation.

"So what happened?" Suki asked, moving closer towards Katara. Even if she was a warrior, she was still a girl and loved to be in on just a little bit of gossip. Each girl listened intently as they waited for Katara to tell her story.

Poor, poor Katara unsure of what to say gulped and shrugged her shoulders. Maybe if she started off with a lie they would all fall for it. Then she looked over to Toph and bit the inside of her cheek, remembering she could tell when one was lying. Katara sighed and looked over to Aang who seemed just as awkward as she felt.

"Katara?" Toph called, waking Katara from her personal thoughts. "Could you get a move on it Sugar Queen, we're waitin' here!" Toph nudged Katara softly. The older girl stared down at the younger one and sighed, giving up.

"Well, we uh…we kissed." She said the words softly with the sense of slight bitterness. She wasn't sure if she was ready to share that little tidbit of information.

"SERIOUSLY?" The way Suki and Toph spoke those words together at the very same time gave Katara shivers. Mai seemed a little shocked but she wasn't planning on showing it.

"Yeah…and…and, Toph since when are you interested in stuff like-like this?" Her voice squeaked slightly as she pointed towards the young girl in a nervous haste. Toph shrugged and grinned.

"Girlish curiosity?" She questioned it like she was unsure but there was an evil little grin on her face while she said it. Katara slumped in her chair as she waited for more questions. There was no hiding it anymore, she guessed.

"Have you kissed before?" Suki asked, clasping her hands together.

Katara nodded solemnly, a slight blush coming forth from each of the memories. Suki nodded and Toph went in for the next question.

"So…how is he?" She asked. Suki nodded in agreement to the question and even Mai seemed interested in the answer.

"I mean, considering he's still a kid…" Mai started but Katara looked up at her quickly, shaking her head in protest.

"No he isn't!" She argued. "Aang isn't the same kid who I found in the iceberg! He's matured and grown up and he saved the world! I don't know where on earth he learned to kiss so well but it makes me want to collapse every time he does it! I absolutely love it!" With horrid realization Katara covered her mouth in shock, unaware that calling Aang a "kid" made her spit out secret thoughts about him. The other girls laughed quietly, trying not the let the boys know what they were talking about.

"So he's good, huh?" Toph asked with a smirked.

Katara placed her forehead to the table and groaned. "Yeah…he's good." She placed a hand up and waved it about for a moment, trying to signal she didn't want to be questioned anymore.

"KATARA! HEY KATARA!" Aang rushed in and grabbed Katara by the hand. She looked up at Aang suddenly, her cheeks stained red by the inquisitive eyes of all the females around her.

"Yes Aang?" She asked him coolly. Aang grinned at her widely, falling back into a child's personality.

"Sokka dared me to tie a cherry stem into a knot in my mouth and I did it! It only took like ten seconds, not even!" He laughed as Sokka walked in dejectedly, kicking invisible objects on the floor. Suki quietly laughed at her boyfriend's disposition.

"I can't believe he did it…" Sokka groaned, falling to the floor in a heap. Zuko followed in after, a little shocked by the events but trying not to let it get to him. He coughed, knowing he had also tried the same test and equally failed it to.

Aang held on tighter to Katara's hand and led her outside, away from the group of friends who had thusly decided to discuss young Aang's feat.

"So you really tied it into a knot in one try?" Katara wondered of Aang, completely impressed.

Aang laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "Let me tell you something Katara…" He started, pulling her slightly closer towards him. "The Southern Air Temple was known for its fruit pies, as you know…and sometimes there would be a good, cherry pie…" He drifted off.

"Yes…and?" Katara urged, wanting to hear the end of his sentence.

"Well…let's just say I've been tying cherry stems in knots since I was about six, 'course then I didn't know what it meant to be able to do it!" Aang gave a cocky grin and Katara smiled softly in return.

"Well, that does explains some things…" She mused to herself as she felt Aang draw slightly closer. His eyes narrowed mischievously.

"I can teach you…" He told her quietly as she blushed. "It's real easy…" They smiled deviously, leaning in and letting their lips move against each other enthusiastically.

_This should be a fun lesson…_


End file.
